Jump to content

Seiko Bell-Matic 4006-6011


Recommended Posts

Well after some consideration I finally shelled out for a beaten up old Bell-matic.  It is probably the most complicated watch I have, up to now, that I willl have worked on.  It is not too bad I suppose but after bidding on about five of these watches i was surprised by the price they command even in poor condition.

This is the pic from the bay

58d907f7319aa_BayPhoto.thumb.jpg.2bce8dc1f9896a0558a7edf884dca7a7.jpg

Now that I have it I find the dial is not in bad condition at all, I accepted that the plexiglass was bust and it would need a new one (from Cousins) and the case has some need for buffing.  However, despite being described as being in working condition there are quite a few faults.  I found the crown was decidedly non standard and when wound backwards simply wound off and it transpires that it is in need of replacement.  I thought I was in luck when I found one for £2.88 in Cousins but my hopes were dashed when the crown supplied proved to be the wrong tap size being 10 or 11 and not Tap 9 (10/100 mm) which is needed to fit the 354805 stem. Here is a pic of the crown that came with the watch - it is patently wrong.

crown_and_case.thumb.jpg.a3839542561142c2f9a0d305dd944bea.jpg

Here is a pic of the crown from Cousins alongside the other crown and it is obviously a better match to the tube and the gasket comes with it.

58d90af770836_twocrowns.thumb.jpg.79cc9626d4b125b35a283651f2932cc0.jpg

Unfortunately the tap size was wrong but to give Cousins their due they contacted Seiko who confirmed I needed a 55M22NS1 crown (now obsolete) and they had supplied the wrong part and Cousins gave an immediate refund but did not ask for return of the Crown which I consider to be good service though I have now got my fingers crossed for the Plexiglass and gaskets I bought.

Well thats my latest project. I am minded to drill out and re-tap the crown as in every other aspect it seems a perfectly acceptable crown. I may have to get some different taps though as the ones I have are a bit problematic on their lead in for the depth of metal to the dead end I will be tapping. I am in no doubt that there will be a lot of work here, the pointers look grubby and I suspect the spring for the alarm is faulted, though I heard the alarm work for a brief couple of seconds - it will need a full service but there are a few teardowns on the net - Christian has done one I could follow and I have found some more - luckily it seems to be a popular watch. Spares are available some easier to get than others but i will have to open it up and find out as I go along. That leather strap is revolting but it is the least of my jobs, date does change with pusher and the alarm ring does move and finally it does tick. Buffing the case should make a difference. Here are a final two pics - that is the best pic of the face I could manage through the bust plexi.  I joined a Bell-Matic forum in another place (SCWF) and have accessed a shedload of info and spec sheets (grateful thanks to JohnWN) that will be handy.

58d90fbc91c9f_Bell-MaticBeforework.thumb.jpg.2588b902d926034230d7b53646ded09b.jpg

58d90d0c319f5_caseback.jpg.92c0314e2b82db49571fed5d128f1ccd.jpg

Just as an after thought heres a pic of some of my current favourites.

watches.thumb.jpg.c566f22560441329f512132408909b6b.jpg

The little Gradus needs some work and has seen some knocks but I will get round to it one day.  I have a couple of cases with other stuff in ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous that I may get round to posting "some day".

Bye for now - Cheers,

Vic

 

Edited by Vich
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

You mention taps. There are three types of taps. Mostly we use taper taps that have about ten threads of increasing depth. For through holes in sheet material or cleaning up nuts they're fine. A plug tap has a much shorter taper, 3 or 4 threads. These are used to cut a fuller thread after the taper tap has been used. For a thread to the bottom of a blind hole you need a bottom tap which may have 0 to 1.5 threads of taper.

For a crown you'll need a taper and a bottom tap but you may get away without a plug tap.

Neil


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Neileg,

Thanks for the info. luckily in my kit now I have all three as well as a few spare cheapo 1mm taps that I was going to butcher but  hopefully I will be ok.

I am going to find out the exact threaded hole size before I start I may even need to drill it out a touch before the re tap.

taps.thumb.JPG.7f8a216c1ddcdfec4cb790b0e163a048.JPG

Cheers,

Vic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
16 minutes ago, Jonbooker44 said:

Hi Vic would you be interested in fixing my bellmatic

Just FYI, forum rules do not allow members to advertise sales or service, so that type of talks should be done by Private Message or even better, email.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Similar Content

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • that band is old as stated, there is a kit that pops up from time to time on selling sites for the repair of these type bands, some of this type are adjustable on a few links, one adjustable type allows you to align the round opening in the expansion slit [like yours] with the rivet to separate, but if yours won't come out then the rivet head is too big and will have to be done with some rivet removal and replacement, I suppose if you could make/optain the correct rivets that one could alter the said band, the tops/caps do lift off after raising the tabs....  
    • This is a watch from a friend who sent it to a neighborhood watchmaker for a battery change. It came back with the watch stem in a ziplock bag and the dial skewed 20°. The watchmaker told him that the stem was faulty and the watch cannot be repaired. I opened up the watch and found that one dial foot was broken off and still stuck in the movement, while the other was bent until it was flat against the dial. The stem could be inserted but it couldn't be pulled out to quickset and time adjusting positions. I did a full disassemble, cleaned and oiled the movement. But when it put in the battery, the second hand runs super fast. Like it gains 30 mins every hour. Any advice on fixing this problem? TIA.
    • I determined that the balance staff is rotating, not the roller table, so my second attempt at riveting was unsuccessful. I have ordered a new balance staff and will take measurements when it arrives. The balance staff i originally ordered (and now reordered) was specified as: Replacement balance staff: (A. Schild Caliber 984 1002 1021 1124 Original Balance Staff Part 723) so it should be correct. Measurements: (see pic below for terminology) xxxyy is a place holder until the new balance staff arrives. Lower pivot: Old - .08 mm New - xxxyy Lower pivot to balance seat: Old - 1.53 mm New - xxxyy Roller shoulder: Old - .42 mm New - xxxyy Hub: Old - xxxyy New - xxxyy Balance shoulder: Old - .86 mm New - xxxyy Collet shoulder: Old - .56 mm New - xxxyy Upper pivot: Old - broken New - xxxyy
    • Hello and welcome from Leeds.  We're here to help. 
    • I was just about to adk that, probably they have unnecessary waiting lists to make their watches appear more exclusive than they actually are.
×
×
  • Create New...